Northeastern law professor coordinates racketeering claims against Toyota

U.S. consumers who seek civil damages against Toyota for diminished resale value of recalled vehicles are trying to add racketeering claims to the charge. Under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisation Act, a commercial enterprise can be found liable for triple the damages for any harm caused by its fraudulent activities. Northeastern University law professor Tim Howard, lead counsel for a team of law firms handling some half the cases, said the litigation that originally stood to reap more than 2 billion U.S. dollars from Toyota, could end up costing the Japanese automaker more than 10 billion U.S. dollars.

Northeastern law professor coordinates racketeering claims against Toyota news.xinhuanet.com Fri, Mar 19, 2010